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US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

bbc.com

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Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#71

Post by hrimfaxi »

stronglikedan wrote: post #58
oompydoompy74 wrote: post #12

Regulating human consumption of anything that grows from the ground is absolutely ridiculous. It’s an affront to the natural order. At the minimum, nobody should have the ability to tell me I can’t buy seeds and grow a plant for my own personal consumption.

> Regulating human consumption of anything that grows from the ground is absolutely ridiculous. As always, it depends. While I agree wrt marijuana, everyone would be an opiate addict if poppy wasn't regulated - it's just that good.

> While I agree wrt marijuana, everyone would be an opiate addict if poppy wasn't regulated - it's just that good.

That doesn't match my experience at all.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#72

Post by iamnothere »

rkozik1989 wrote: post #4

This is ultimately a good thing, but as a country we also need to talk about the effects of cannabis use on neurodivergent folks. Its not as harmful as other drugs but also isn't really a good coping mechanism. Especially if you're neurodivergent and deal with depression. What I've seen being in/out of partial hospitalization programs is that people just don't realize that heavy cannabis is actually causing/prolongin…

Perhaps now that the government no longer claims it to be as dangerous as heroin, we can start realistic public education efforts that distinguish responsible use from abuse. Not sure we’re there yet, though.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#73

Post by giantg2 »

I see a lot of people pushing weed as being safer than alcohol. There's a huge difference in the available data for both of these, not to mention the risk gradient of each based on dose and frequency. There are more known risks with alcohol, but it's not an apples to apples comparison based on the data. The final verdict is that neither is a "safe" choice based on the data, even if the risks differ somewhat between them.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#74

Post by hx8 »

recursivegirth wrote: post #63
bakies wrote: post #26

Now the next Democrat presidential candidate can't run on "legalize it." Might have to develop real strategy.

If the Democrats run on legalization they have already lost. Quite no one literally gives a shit about this besides the marginalized people it's going to affect negatively the most. Can we move on to more important and substantive topics? Something something files.

I think "legalize it" in the platform is more likely to help a democratic presidential candidate than hurt one. Specifically, I think it might attract more liberal voters to the polls in swing states with illegal weed such as GA, NC, and WI.

I agree that I would expect a serious candidate to come with much bolder ideas, but it can fit into a platform in the same way "no tax on tips" fit into the 2024 election. One of many good ideas that will motivate a certain niche of voters.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#75

Post by nemomarx »

giantg2 wrote: post #73

I see a lot of people pushing weed as being safer than alcohol. There's a huge difference in the available data for both of these, not to mention the risk gradient of each based on dose and frequency. There are more known risks with alcohol, but it's not an apples to apples comparison based on the data. The final verdict is that neither is a "safe" choice based on the data, even if the risks differ somewhat between t…

Alcohol is one of the more dangerous drugs on most scales, so it's kind of a low bar?

The drug to beat would be safer than nicotine probably.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#76

Post by iamnothere »

giantg2 wrote: post #66
lenerdenator wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, you'll never get it to where people aren't going to become addicts to these things. You can only reduce harms by regulation and social support. Gambling is a decent example of where we've lost touch with this in the last decade. In my state, it used to be that if you wanted to play games of pure chance, you had to go to a physical casino, present an ID, and be subject to the rules and regulations of th…

"If you wanted to, you could sign an affidavit that would ban you from the casino floor on the risk of a misdemeanor trespassing charge." Let's help people by criminalizing them so they have a harder time getting a job and all that...

Voluntary precommitment measures like this need some kind of teeth to be effective. The point isn’t incarceration, it’s the ban from the casino. If they can return without consequences then it’s not really a ban.

It’s likely that they will be turned away rather than arrested, unless they try to force their way in or sneak in.

Remember, this is voluntary. It’s for people with a problem who want to cut themselves off because they can’t control themselves any other way.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#77

Post by atonse »

Honestly, I have zero issues with legalizing marijuana (I'm not an expert on the effects), but I just don't like how the smell really travels and overwhelms local areas nowadays. Fair or not, I think it smells stronger than cigarette smoke (which smells more like a neutral smoke maybe?) so has a higher annoyance factor.

So over time, I've gotten more in the camp of "completely ok with the gummies being legal, not so sure about the smoking part anymore" - anyone else feel that way?

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#78

Post by guzfip »

recursivegirth wrote: post #63
bakies wrote: post #26

Now the next Democrat presidential candidate can't run on "legalize it." Might have to develop real strategy.

If the Democrats run on legalization they have already lost. Quite no one literally gives a shit about this besides the marginalized people it's going to affect negatively the most. Can we move on to more important and substantive topics? Something something files.

> Can we move on to more important and substantive topics? Something something files.

Oh no too many of the powerful establishment democrats are friendly with the esteemed bankers, politicians and business leaders in those files.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#79

Post by StableAlkyne »

superxpro12 wrote: post #57
Throaway199999 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, previous regulation was built on the principle that we actually did understand the risks, as rational adults, and so we would have reasonable protections but in for people around those. Today's regulation seems to be dependent on the principle of not talking about risks at all.

Today's regulations are solely "deregulation". Corporations are racing to maximize exploitation before the deregulation snaps back to reality.

Deregulation is not necessarily a bad thing.

Best example of this is NIMBYs in the Bay Area abusing hearings to block affordable housing, or making it as expensive as possible to replace single family homes with denser construction.

And all of the passthrough towns between LA and SF who have gummed up the high speed rail in court because the state kneecapped its own eminent domain rights through well-meaning self-regulation.

Re: US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous

#80

Post by bombcar »

CodingJeebus wrote: post #59
bombcar wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a general and larger question than just "weed for autists" that needs to be discussed - and it touches on large amounts of the population and "freedoms". We've seen from the gambling legalization, drug legalization, and even things like loot boxes, etc, that there is a subset of the population who just cannot handle these things at a level most people would consider "responsible". We last had this nation-wide…

12 Step recovery and adjacent programs fill this niche quite well, and new communities are popping up all the time to deal with more modern addictions, like internet/technology addiction. I'm sober and have been in that world for several years now, and the most important (and hardest) part of getting sober was accepting that I had a problem and needed help. Macro policy decisions can help with access to an extent, bu…

That's certainly part of it - but there's some distance between prohibition and infinite alcohol dispensaries in everyone's pocket (which is what gambling has become).
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